The present invention relates to honeycomb structures, and, in particular, relates to a means of reinforcing the honeycomb structure.
A prior method of reinforcement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,411 that discloses in the Figures a pair of panels held apart by a fixture. In this configuration, various styles of stitching are used in combination such as a straight stitch, a slant stitch and a lock stitch, etc. to provide additional strength. The fixture can be removed or left in place. A coating of resin is applied thereto. After hardening, the interior threads would act as braces, struts, trusses or other reinforcements. The fixture shown is composed of orthogonal upper and lower fingers which can be easily removed to provide a pair of panels held apart by the resined thread reinforcements. It is seen in this patent that the threads are integrally connected to the exterior panels. The above patent is incorporated by reference.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a means to reinforce a pre-existing structure without exterior panels thereon.